New Global Partnership for Healthy Oceans

On February 24, 2012, the World Bank announced the Global Partnership for Oceans; bringing science, advocacy, the private sector, and international public institutions together, committed to addressing the threats to the health, productivity and resilience of the world’s oceans.

WWF is working with the World Bank and others in support of the partnership, to coordinate efforts in areas such as:

Protecting and restoring habitats and species required for maintaining ecosystem services and livelihoods

Fostering global advocacy for sustainable and climate-resilient communities and economies

Sharing knowledge of innovation and solutions

Oceans cover over two-thirds of the planet's surface and are home to an underwater world of millions of fish, labyrinths of limestone reefs, extensive sea grass meadows and coastal mangrove forests that attract sea turtles and the giants of the sea such as humpback whales. The frozen oceans host glaciers and icebergs and attract marine mammals, such as gray whales, which travel great distances to forage and raise their young.

Oceans also provide one billion people with their primary source of protein, and over 200 million people around the world their principal livelihood—fishing. But there are facing serious threats—from overfishing to pollution that, if left unchecked, could threaten the stability of the ecosystem.

The partnership aims to address these threats to end destructive fishing practices, create and expand marine protected areas, reform national policies for managing fish, and address the needs of those who depend on marine areas.